United States District Court, D. Connecticut
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
VICTOR
A. BOLDEN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Jose
Ramos, proceeding pro se and currently incarcerated at
MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield,
Connecticut, has sued Department of Correction
(“DOC”) Commissioner Scott Semple, Warden William
Mulligan, and Correction Officer John Doe (collectively
“Defendants”) in their official and individual
capacities for damages and declaratory relief under 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 against. Complaint, ECF No. 1
(“Compl.”).
Mr.
Ramos is suing the Defendants for allegedly retaliating
against him and deprivation of due process by stealing items
from his cell at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.
Id.
On
September 10, 2018, Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel
granted Mr. Ramos's motion to proceed in forma
pauperis. See Order, ECF No. 9.
For the
following reasons, the Court DISMISSES the
Complaint for failure to state a plausible claim under 28
U.S.C. § 1915A.
Mr.
Ramos will have until August 2, 2019 to seek leave to amend
his Complaint or the Court will direct the Clerk of the Court
to close this case.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A.
Factual Allegations
On June
8, 2018, correction officers allegedly entered the H-1 Unit
of MacDougall- Walker Correctional Institution, removed all
inmates in that unit from their cells and sent them to the
gym while they performed a “shakedown” of the
cells. Compl. at ¶ 1. During the shakedown, Mr. Ramos
alleges that officers stole items his cell, including an
extension cord and towel. Id. at ¶ 2.
Later
that day, Mr. Ramos spoke with Officer Perry and wrote to
Captain Black about his missing property, but neither
official provided him with any information. Id. at
¶ 3.
On July
16, 2018, Mr. Ramos wrote to William Mulligan and
Commissioner Semple about the issue. Id. at ¶
4.
On
August 14, 2018, Mr. Mulligan replied to Mr. Ramos's
letter and said that there was no shakedown of Mr.
Ramos's cell on June 8 and that Ramos's property
matrix did not show that he had an extension cord or towel in
his cell. Id. at ¶ 5; Letter from Mulligan,
Pl.'s Ex. 1, ECF No. 1, at 8. Mr. Mulligan also informed
Mr. Ramos that future claims regarding lost property need to
be addressed through the proper chain of command.
Id.
Mr.
Ramos alleges that he asked that officers preserve camera
footage of his housing unit to prove that there was a
shakedown and that officers stole his property. Compl. at
¶ 7
B.
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